China and the World of Business • China Business and the World

Looking to be another long day. Possibly some interesting news later. I’m a half-hour early for my first appointment of the day, and the skies are clear if hazy above Beijing. There is promise in the air.

Great iPod shuffle billboard along 3rd Ring near the Zhaolong hotel. ¥990 is a bit more expensive than the $99 the thing goes for in the states, but it’s brilliant. In a country where there price is a mostly subjective thing, simply smacking a price on a billboard is a bold statement. Go Apple.

Huge double-decker bus ads for 7-Eleven, stores which are just starting to pop up in China. Why does China need more convenience retail? It doesn’t. It needs more cost-effective convenience retail, and 7-Eleven’s inventory and supply-chain management technology are what is going to revolutionize small retail here. It will become increasingly difficult in China to run a retail operation with an abacus and a cash box.